Iskatti POV
When that traitor returned from doing whatever it was that the keelish demanded of her, Iskatti couldn't bear to look at her. She'd fallen so far, from one of their number to a dog bowing and scraping before their captors. Worse, their captors were the ancient prey, keelish. She was no Misti Hawar, not anymore. Regardless of how much less the others struggled against their captivity than he himself did, they'd all stopped counting Maksulah as one of their fellow prisoners. When she spoke, though, the other three stopped to listen.
"Finally, our time of deliverance is at hand."
A brief silence settled over before until finally the silence had to be broken.
"What are you talking about?"
"The Nyust'taa has sent her representatives to save us. Right now, they are negotiating for our freedom."
The others grew excited at this news. They heard "freedom" and stopped thinking. Iskatti felt his blood run cold. He was going to be saved? He was incapable of saving himself? He would cost the Principality some benefit to be freed? Each thought that crossed his mind made his gorge rise. If he needed to be saved, then that meant he was weak, and Iskatti was not weak.
Then, a thought occurred to him.
"There's no way that any negotiations that occur will be concluded quickly. The keelish will demand an exorbitant price, and negotiations will take place over time. That means, tonight, we need to escape. Even if only one of us, the rest of us should sacrifice ourselves so that the Principality suffers no further indignity at the hands of these beasts."
"You're saying that we should sacrifice some, or even all of our lives for the possibility of escape one single day earlier?" As always, Maksulah's voice dripped with some perceived sense of superiority.
"No, our honor demands that we refuse to put our country and our clans at a disadvantage for our continued survival. It is better that one of us escape while the rest die to keep the Principality from paying for our release.
Iskatti could see that his true fellows felt their bellies burn at his words. With their fury finally returning, their bravery showing its face once more, they remembered how they'd been trapped, their instincts dulled, and their true natures as hunters suppressed. Now, both stretched as tall as they could manage while chained and they nodded.
"I will sacrifice myself for the good of my country."
"The Keel aren't saying anything," Maksulah reminded. "They know this exchange is happening and I returned with this news, and they're letting the conversation continue. You're not suspicious about that?"
"They're cunning," Iskatti disagreed, "but they are not this intelligent. We need to seize this opportunity to regain our honor."
"If you want to get yourself killed only a day before you'll be free anyways, be my guest. I'll stay in here."
Maksulah sat down and ceased engaging with the conversation, only further solidifying the others' determination of her as a traitor, and a weakling. Fortunately, there were two males with the sufficient strength to cast off their previous weakness and comfort to instead prove to themselves once again that they were Misti Hawar, hunters and worthy of the respect of both their ancestors and the Great Hunter himself.
"This will be the plan…"
***
As the dark of night descended over the prison, Iskatti could taste the freedom in the air. It was nigh at hand, and his fellows and he had all covenanted that they would sacrifice themselves for the escape of their allies. Iskatti himself was the most important, and would be the last to sacrifice, though the others weren't aware of that just yet. Perhaps they thought the same of themselves, and Iskatti wouldn't doubt it. Even so, the willingness to sacrifice, even if it was largely others, would allow the plan to go off without a hitch.
In the faint light as the last light from the suns disappeared, Iskatti made his move. The first shadows touched him, but the torches had already been placed to keep him trapped. He shifted his position, grumbling as he always did. The continued refusal to give in to the keelish's rule served him well in this moment, as his movements were largely what he was always doing—getting into as comfortable a position as he could manage. This time, though, he fought to get every manacle under his body at the same time. As soon as his wrists were in the shadow, Iskatti made his arms shadow.
He'd always indulged just a little in his magic, unwilling to leave behind this key part of himself. Before, he'd never allowed himself the freedom of slipping his bonds, knowing that if he did, he'd get himself killed with his inability to imprison himself once more. With nobody around to support his escape, he'd be caught by the keelish and tortured to death. They hadn't done so yet, but he still remembered the beatings and deaths that'd occurred when he was first taken captive. If he'd attempted to do so here, in their nest? He'd find only death.
Now, with others to bear the pressure? He would be able to find the keelish's weaknesses and exploit them while using another's shadow to hide himself. After a moment, he stirred and his two assistants followed suit. When they didn't lead the charge, Iskatti cursed himself. Of course they wanted to have another go first and take the brunt of the first reaction. After all, it was what he wanted to do. There was nothing else to do, then. He was the leader, so leading it was.
Iskatti didn't make a sound as he ripped his arms and legs out. Free, finally. Knowing what was coming, he sprinted to the edge of the pit, where the fires were the brightest. Foul keelish cries filled the air in protest, but he fled too quickly. There, in the bright light of the torches, Iskatti showed something that the keelish evidently didn't realize: the brighter the light, the deeper the shadows that could there be found.
Stones flew through the air towards Iskatti, his two companions going in opposite directions from him. There was a particular patch of shadow he'd settled on, though, and as rocks thundered against the ground behind him, he dove into a shadow that connected all the way up the wall and into the city. There, he stretched his senses in every direction to find somewhere to gather himself. Whilst shadow, every sound was murky, but Iskatti had long since learned how to scout out his path safely. He heard the scuffle of combat, and then a scream in his native tongue. The exact words were unclear, but he could understand the gist:
"Death before captivity."
A few short seconds later, there was a scream of pain, and then silence. Death, then. Iskatti could only hope that he was able to escape himself. He pulled himself out of the shadow with a carefully controlled breath. One couldn't breathe while shadow, and so much of every Misti Hawar's training was in finding locations to emerge from shadow to steal breaths and reorient.
Looking around himself, Iskatti saw only a dark room. There was no movement within, though by the approaching sound, he knew time was short. He took three deep breaths, spread his awareness further, and dove back into the shadow. He would escape tonight, he was sure.
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